The Senate Judiciary Committee is beginning to mark up the immigration bill today in the opening act of what will likely be a long, contentious fight over amendments. The “Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act” (S 744) is the immigration reform proposal developed by the so-called “gang of eight.”

Among other things, the bill would expand the annual cap of H-1B visas to 110,000 from the existing cap of 65,000, raise the number of visas for foreign graduates with advanced degrees from U.S. universities that are exempt from the annual cap, and create a 13-year path to citizenship for nearly 11 million immigrants. No undocumented worker, however, would be eligible for citizenship until the border is considered secure.

The Office of Federal Relations has been actively engaged with Congressional members on issues related to visas and pathways to citizenship for our students (Dreamers).